Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: LWC on December 13, 2007, 06:28:30 pm
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did 3 contracts today and only 3 houses
good day
driving along phone rings, "hi matt, its so and so from bla bla bla."
"oh yes you ok"
"yes fine, did you do the windows on the front"
"yes yes did them"
"oh right"
"was there a problem at all?"
"no just the gate was locked"
"yes i stood on something and unlocked it"
"oh...right, well money will be in the post"
"thanks...bye" ???
then straight after, these houses are about 30 miles apart and they dont know each other,
"hi youve done my windows today in so and so"
"oh yes"
"just wondering which windows you did?"
"all of them"
"well how did you get around the back? the gate was locked"
"i stood on something and unlocked it"
"oh...right..."
she didnt seem too happy either. its a new customer.
crikey, how else do they think we got in. i know some people can get funny about it. but why ask such a daft question as how did i get in...
if theyre not in, i jump over, thats that, im not doing just fronts and will call back tommorow
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Some people (well, most actually) just dont equate you cleaning their windows with you needing to earn a living from it.
Try doing just the front and see their expression when you charge them the full whack.
Cake and eat it springs to mind. Whats wrong with legging it over a gate anyway for Gawds sake???
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thing that makes me laugh is when they say we do that to stop people breaking in, so 2 screws if they really want to get in is going to stop them ::)
I had a customer say to me how am I getting in, I said I lift the gate, she says "it is locked" and my reply I know thats why I lift it up it then opens.
She now comes out and unlocks it then re locks it when I finish :o
Some people are just plain bonkers.
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I've got one who refuses to leave it unlocked. Cheerio then!
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I have one where I undo the 4 screws on the lock by leaning over as theres a large conservatory which I need to use various size blades on, so I have to go back and forth to the car, just waiting for them to come home, see me there and come out to offer to undo the padlock ;D
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hi
i keep a wooden pole with a dirty great screw in it in the back of the van. it lets me unhook most bolts on gates. after doing the job i never rebolt them as it shows them i got round the back!
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A new way of getting to sleep...Window Cleaners jumping over gates ;D
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I had a custie who said she would open the back gate. Got round there a few minutes later and she had forgotten to do it. Leaned over the gate and opened it using a short pole. She saw me a few minutes later finishing the windows and looked very puzzled, then asked me how I got in as I wouldn't have been able to reach the bolt. As I was finished, I went outside and showed her by locking the gate. She nearly had kittens that it was so easy to get in, but she hasn't changed anything...
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A new way of getting to sleep...Window Cleaners jumping over gates ;D
Or falling off ledges :o :o
Sorry, I'll get me coat.
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A new way of getting to sleep...Window Cleaners jumping over gates ;D
Or falling off ledges :o :o
Sorry, I'll get me coat.
No don't...I've had a well cheap lesson today...The Big Man Upstairs was looking out for me!
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i got one whos husband puts a bent nail over the latch so i now ring her the night before to have it removed last month i heard him in the back ground" tell him not to bother this month but make sure hes here in december we have family coming christmas !"
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i got one whos husband puts a bent nail over the latch so i now ring her the night before to have it removed last month i heard him in the back ground" tell him not to bother this month but make sure hes here in december we have family coming christmas !"
I would go out of my way to avoid cleaning this type of customer's house after that comment you wrote just to play them at their own game ;D
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i got one whos husband puts a bent nail over the latch so i now ring her the night before to have it removed last month i heard him in the back ground" tell him not to bother this month but make sure hes here in december we have family coming christmas !"
Potatoe - hot... drop!
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A new way of getting to sleep...Window Cleaners jumping over gates ;D
the sight on some or you guys would give me nightmares, I am sticking to £££ signs jumping :-X
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i will do them again for him in jan no problem ;D
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start & offer security if a window cleaner cant get in the gate then a burglar wont lol ;D
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start & offer security if a window cleaner cant get in the gate then a burglar wont lol ;D
does make me laugh though, a little bolt, what do they think thats gonna stop?
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with the exception of dogs nothing can stop me getting round the back i dont like having to phone for access and have various tricks for lifting latches slipping bolts etc but just climb over if cant undo most custs ok with this only have one that i ring and one whos only done on fridays and these prefer me not to climb over so i dont but would not take long to get in if i wanted.Nothing is really gonna stop anyone who is determined to get in wonder who does steven gerrards windows ;D
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Ive decided not to jump over gates anymore after going over one with a big stone arch that gave waywhen I was leaning back holding on to it.
I managed to stop it falling[it would prob have killed me].
Had to gat a builder mate to repair it.Took us about 2 hours,its not worth it.
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yeah fair enough that is a bit crap but aint they liable for that surely it was on the way out already if it fell down when you grabbed it you could have sued them!!!!
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I won't go over gates at all these days. I used to do it but a few sessions on the osteopath couch helped me decide not to do it any more. I take the view that they can't have their cake and eat it. If they really want a regular service and it is reasonably important to them, they can fit a padlock near the top of the gate and supply me with a spare key (or the access code). That way they can have their security and they can have a window cleaning service. If they won't do that then they don't trust me. If they won't have a bit of trust, I don't want to work for them anyway. Simple really !!
I have about a dozen gate keys in my home from various customers and I know the hiding places for a few more. Oddly enough, some customers where I've been going for many years upgrade their security and won't let me have reasonable access. They become ex-customers. However, sometimes new customers will give me a spare gate key. I've even been offered house keys but I don't accept them.
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I used to have a customer... She was a bit odd. I cleaned her house about 6 times and she was always in... Then one day I turned up and she was out... The back gate was bolted so I reached over and unlocked it and did all the windows.
Later on that day she phones and says she is only paying me half as I could have only done the fronts... So I explain that I unlocked the back gate and did the backs as well.
She went MAD! Saying she wasn't sending any money because I had trespassed on her property blah blah blah...
The next thing I know I get a phone call from the police station asking me to go and see them about a complaint they've had about me! Utter madness!
Andy
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I won't go over locked gates anymore either. I just do the fronts and charge more than half the money. Or more if there are more windows at the front.
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Well said Mark...I made the same decision recently when I used step ladders to balance on the frame of a gate, as the bolt was right near the bottom and the gate was 6 feet tall. Then jumped down and very slightly twisted my ankle, which hurt for days afterwards, Since then I have decided my health and wellbeing is worth more than a few pounds for cleaning the back. Like you I charge about 75% of total price....so in the end quite good news if the gate is locked!
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ugh, don't start me on gate lockers - how on earth is a pathetic little 3mm padlock gonna stop a burglar??
It really cracks me up, I did take it too far a while back, custy who always locks the gate (after I have rang to say I'll be round the next day), so anyway this happened at least 10 times and in August I had enough,I put my foot through the gate cleaned the back and left a note saying thanks for leaving the gate open!!
Now she's convinced it was someone trying to break in and has just gone and got a new gate fitted, only this time its super heavy duty and no way could I kick the thing in!!
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i wont climb over gates any more,i let customers who lock gates know in advance when im comeing,if they think so little of me that they cant be botherd to open their gate after i have given them the courtesy of taking the time to phone or post a note through their letter box,then they can find them selves another window cleaner,i deleat them off george and forget about them.and not just over gates,if they pis* me off then goodbye.
maybe ive got a chip on my shoulder,but we all know their are customers out their who think they can take the pis* because we are lowley window cleaners,well they can kiss my arse,i wont put up with it any more,always another customer around the corner.
i never used to take this hard line with customers,only this last 12 months or so,after all they pay the wage,but i wish id ran my buisiness like this from the start,pain in the arse customers are not worth the stress.
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yeah fair enough that is a bit crap but aint they liable for that surely it was on the way out already if it fell down when you grabbed it you could have sued them!!!!
I think it was more a case of her ready to sue me for damage.She said oh my son in laws a builder hes had a look and said it really needs tying in to the garage wall to make a good repair............. I just said ok we will sort it out for you.
PS SHE DIDNT GIVE A XMAS TIP!
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where did it break ??? if its a brick arch over a gate they are usually tied in to garage wall anyway but they always break on the apex never known one to last more than 15 yrs unless pre-formed lintel in and most dont if it dont have to carry a load so just needs rebuild not chopping in again dont get stitched up mate :)
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where did it break ??? if its a brick arch over a gate they are usually tied in to garage wall anyway but they always break on the apex never known one to last more than 15 yrs unless pre-formed lintel in and most dont if it dont have to carry a load so just needs rebuild not chopping in again dont get stitched up mate :)
It broke or came away at the top of a pillar on one side,and on the other side which just butted up to the garage wall.None of it was tied in.
I wont get stiched up mate.Ive already fixed it with a friend whos a builder.We just sat it back on and pointed it up,it wasnt tied in before so its as good as it was.
I just owe my mate a return favour.